And it’s not Frank Stephenson. The new head of MINI Design will be Oliver Heilmer who has been leading the California base BMW Designworks as of late. Oliver has been part of the BMW Group for 17 years and comes to MINI with vast design experience across many industries – not just automotive.

We’ll have more on this move by MINI soon. Until read on for the full release.

Official release: Oliver Heilmer will take over as head of MINI Design effective 1 September 2017. The 42-year-old designer is currently president of Designworks, a BMW Group subsidiary with design studios in California, Munich and Shanghai. Heilmer has been part of the BMW Group design team for 17 years and was responsible for interior design for the BMW brand up until 2016.

“The ‘MINI VISION NEXT 100’ provided an impressive demonstration of MINI’s future viability,” explained Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design. “I am confident that the MINI design team under Oliver Heilmer will implement this vision of the brand in future vehicle models and win over MINI customers. With his design expertise and experience, Oliver Heilmer combines continuity with the freshness and vision MINI stands for.”

In the MINI design team Heilmer will lead from September, Christopher Weil remains in charge of Exterior Design, with Kerstin Schmeding responsible for Colour and Material Design. Interior Design will be headed by Christian Bauer from 1 June.

Effective 1 September 2017, Heilmer will be succeeded as president of Designworks by Holger Hampf. Hampf was a member of the Designworks management team from 2002 and responsible for Product Design up until 2010, when he moved to an external design studio. Since returning to the BMW Group in 2014, the 50-year-old’s responsibilities have included user interface design and realigning the design team for digitalisation. “For me, Designworks is more than just a design studio; it is the strategic interface to our customers’ future living environment,” explained BMW Group Chief Designer Adrian van Hooydonk. “I am delighted to welcome Holger Hampf as president. He is an experienced colleague who knows Designworks well and brings the expertise we need for an increasingly digital customer experience.”